Demolition is underway at the Kings Dock car park
Willmott Dixon has begun work to demolish a Liverpool car park that was ravaged by fire on New Year’s Eve last year.
The blaze at the 1,400-space Kings Dock car park was so severe that nearly all of the 1,305 cars parked inside were destroyed.
The process for removing the cars themselves has also started.
The majority of the demolition is expected to be complete before Christmas and prior to the first anniversary of the fire. Willmott Dixon will then begin construction of a new 1,650-space car park, designed by Leach Rhodes Walker, as part of a £26m contract.
Over 1,000 cars were destroyed in the blaze
The demolition follows an agreement with insurance companies and liaison with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) including the process and the procedure for the removal of the vehicles not burnt out.
No vehicles could be removed prior to the start of demolition because of safety concerns regarding the fragile nature of the building. Mersey Fire and Rescue Service recently concluded that temperatures during the blaze reached over 1,000 degrees Celsius, far higher than the previous estimate of 600 degrees, which has caused extreme internal damage to the integrity of the structure.
Planning permission for a new, nine-floor car park for 1,650 vehicles at Monarch’s Quay was recently approved. The new car park at ACC Liverpool will be fitted with CCTV, electric vehicle charging points, sprinkler system, 15 motorcycle spaces and 50 cycle spaces. It will also have 100 disabled parking bays and fully accessible fire evacuation lifts.
Mayor Joe Anderson said: “Establishing a series of plans and procedures to dismantle the existing car park has been a hugely complex and detailed piece of work which has prioritised the safety of people. We have been in a constant dialogue with insurers and have been carrying out a robust set of enabling works that will ensure we can minimise disruption to the site during the demolition.
“An incredible amount of hard work has gone in to coming up with a temporary facility to enable ACC Liverpool to continue functioning as normal but also designing and submitting plans for a new car park.
A temporary car park is also being built on land next to the ACC Liverpool complex. It will be dismantled once the new car park is completed.
